What were puritan beliefs?

Answer 1

Puritans believed many things. For example:

· They had strong and very strict religious disciplin including but not limited to dancing, liking luxury or having pleasure.

· They believed in salvation - the fate of individual souls was predetermined by God.

· Salvation was a personal matter between God and the 'Elect'. Elects or Saints were the ones who were saved and the ones who weren't were 'wicked'.

· By reading The Bible the individual also entered a direct relationship with God.

· To become an Elect and have Gods salvation they do a Covenant of Grace, a contract that asks forgiveness of sins and for salvation.

· Elect Puritan has to follow Christ and practically devote their life to him.

· To do this they could go to Voluntary associations in congregations and churches.

Puritan beliefs were filled with paradoxes. The puritans rebelled against others in order to create the perfect World, a utopia that did not allow for rebellion. Their beliefs and goals created a tension filled paradoxical dilemma.

Man was not to sin, but he would sin anyway. Man was required to forgive, but evil was ever present. Man was a seeker of salvation, but was helpless against evil. He was to live in hopes of eternal salvation, but he may not have been predetermined by God for salvation.

John Calvin established their basic beliefs of original sin, predestination and the belief that Jesus Christ died for man's sins. Their belief of original sin is that Eve led Adam to sin, and that sin tainted all of mankind, and their concept predestination is that select individuals have been determined by God for salvation before their birth.

· In the Puritan discipline, dancing was acceptable, but sexual dancing was not.

· Drinking alcohol was also acceptable but becoming a drunkard was not.

· The Puritans believed very strongly in marriage and were opposed to illicit sexual activities.

· Adultery was punishable by death, and fornication was to be punished by whipping.

· They wanted to "purify" the Church of England and put an end to the hierarchy that led to corruption.

They believed that the church should follow the scriptures exactly. There was a dislike of the Pope's practice of selling diligences and the massive ornamentation of the Church.

The puritans were just normal people, they were not supermen. They were not monks; they did not shrink from life. The puritans were also neither prohibitionists, nor sexual prudes. They were very open minded for the time. They had the view that they had to live in the world, but not become worldly.

The Dilemma of Puritan living affected individual puritans differently. Some went about their daily lives living in uncertainty whether God had selected them for eternal salvation or condemned them to eternal damnation. Tensions must have been tough on those who worked hard for success but under the Puritan doctrine never daring to enjoy their wealth and success.

1. Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born sinful - concept of Original Sin.

2. Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes - only a few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination.

3. Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.

4. Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.

5. Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.

In the relation of churches to civil power, Puritans believed that secular governors are accountable to God to protect and reward virtue, including "true religion", and to punish wrongdoers. They opposed the supremacy of the monarch in the church (Erastainism), and argued that the only head of the Church in heaven or earth is Christ.

The idea of personal Biblical interpretation, while central to Puritan beliefs was shared with Protestants in general. Puritans sought both individual and corporate conformity to the teaching of the Bible, with moral purity pursued both down to the smallest detail as well as ecclesiastical purity to the highest level. They believed that man existed for the glory of God; that his first concern in life was to do God's will and so to receive future happiness.

Like some of Reformed churches on the European continent, Puritan reforms were typified by a minimum of ritual and decoration and by an unambiguous emphasis on preaching. Calvinists generally believed that the worship in the church ought to be strictly regulated by what is commanded in the Bible (the regulative principle or worship), and condemned as idolatry many current practices, regardless of antiquity or widespread adoption among Christians, against opponents who defended tradition. Simplicity in worship led to the exclusion of vestments, images, candles, etc. They did not celebrate traditional holidays which they believed to be in violation of the regulative principle.

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Answer 2

they belive in everything that is pure